In an interview with BuzzFeed News in the fall, Sterling K. Brown, astar of BLACK PANTHER, thrilled at the prospect of children, black andwhite, dressing up as the title character. "This Halloween, the firsttime I see a little kid, a white kid, dressed up as Black Panther, I'mtaking a picture," he said. "You better believe I'm taking a picture,because that¹s the crossover."

Chadwick Boseman, who plays Black Panther in the film, had alreadywitnessed said crossover, he said in the same interview: "I've seenlittle white kids dressed up as T'Challa. I've seen pictures, and I'veseen it in person."

Black Panther costumes-- whether the character's full raiment or justhis claws and mask-- are on toy store shelves (and, of course, onAmazon) in anticipation of the film's Feb. 16 release. At best, thecharacter get-ups speak to the enthusiastic embrace of a blacksuperhero. At worst, they could be perceived as an unwitting form ofcultural appropriation, which has in recent years become a subject offreighted discourse.

What does that dual significance mean for children? And, perhaps moreurgently, what does it mean for the parents who will buy the costumesfor them?

"As parents, or even as the people creating costumes, we need to be veryaware of what that says," said Brigitte Vittrup, an associate professorof early childhood development and education at Texas Woman'sUniversity. "There's not a whole lot of black superheroes, so this is areally important thing, especially for black kids growing up."

Many parents are split on how Black Panther's blackness should figureinto their children's relationship to the character. Some argue thatplacing racial boundaries around expressions of fandom is unnecessary.

"I'm actually wondering now what it might be like for that parent who'snot of color if his kid comes home and says, 'I want to dress up likeBlack Panther,'" said Katrina Jones, 39, the director of human resourcesat Vimeo. "When I look at it, I see no reason why a kid who's not blackcan't dress like Black Panther. Just like our kid who's not whitedresses up like Captain America. I think the beautiful thing aboutcomics is they do transcend race in a lot of ways."

Mary Dimacali, 29, a social media and marketing manager in RocklandCounty, New York, echoed that idea. She does not believe that herfiance's 7-year-old son, Sawyer, who is white, sees the film or itscharacters through the lens of race. Sawyer himself, during theinterview with Ms. Dimacali, said, "Sure," when she asked if he'd liketo dress up as Black Panther.

"For a white kid to be so open and judge based on the character's storyand the personality and history, I think that's what¹s important," shesaid. "But on the flip side, I think it's also great to have a blacksuperhero you can identify and connect to."

The character's history is unique. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in1966, Black Panther rules as the king of an African technological utopiaknown as Wakanda. Untouched by European invaders, Wakanda exists apartfrom the legacies of colonization and racism. Black history and blackfantasy are central to the character, and the series has brought onprominent black writers including Ta-Nehisi Coates to deepen itssignificance over the last 50 years. Consequently, some parents havefelt pressure to hammer home Black Panther's heroism through the lens ofrace.

"I'm conflicted," said Evan Narcisse, a senior writer for the websiteio9. He is completing "Rise of the Black Panther", a six-part comicseries for Marvel that traces the character's early history. He hastried to explain some of that history to his 7-year-old daughter, butwithout delving too deeply into complex concepts like Westernimperialism, which she may struggle to grasp.

"You want that white kid to be able to think that he can dress up in aBlack Panther costume, because, to that kid, there's no differencebetween Captain America and Black Panther," Mr. Narcisse, 45, said. But,he added, it also involves "trying to explain what is special aboutT'Challa and Wakanda without racism. And it's like, 'Can't do it.' Icouldn't do it."

According to the ticketing site Fandango, BLACK PANTHER set a recordamong Marvel films for the most advance tickets sold in a 24-hourperiod. It's projected to make a record-breaking $165 million overPresidents' Day weekend and comparisons to last year's WONDER WOMAN bodewell for its reception and impact, particularly for black people.

"White people have the privilege of not constantly being reminded oftheir race in the United States, where white is the majority, whereas asa black person you don't," Ms. Vittrup said. She believes that parentsin general, and white parents in particular, are reluctant to talk aboutrace with young children. When they do, they often miss the chance totalk about inequality, even though research supports the idea thatchildren develop an awareness of race and difference at a very young age.

Ms. Vittrup was careful to add that dressing as Black Panther isn'tinherently appropriative or offensive. The character comes from aninvented African country, and to wear his mask isn't quite the same aswearing blackface. However, in a moment where even more black heroes,like Luke Cage and Black Lightning, are finding their way into thelimelight, Black Panther's relationship with the black community and itshistory creates an opportunity to teach non-black children about theblack experience.

"Kids are not colorblind," she said. "There's a lot of structuralinequality in our society, and kids are noticing that. By not mentioningit, by not talking about it, we¹re essentially preserving the statusquo."

Post by BTR1701Thankfully our cultural gatekeepers at the Times have come to conclusionthat it's not racist per se for a white child to dress as Black Pantherfor Halloween.Whew! Dodged a bullet there.

Or have we?I heard reports that certain people are demanding that 25% of the money madeon this movie be "given back" to the "black community".

You're a Hollywood movie studio executive, Ubi? As far as I'm concerned,people are perfectly free to express an opinion on how studios shouldspend charitable monies and how much, given that Hollywood studios havealways lectured the American public on exactly what's wrong withsociety, in a way that they think makes them money.

Post by BTR1701Thankfully our cultural gatekeepers at the Times have come to conclusionthat it's not racist per se for a white child to dress as Black Pantherfor Halloween.Whew! Dodged a bullet there.---------------https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/style/black-panther-children-costumes.htmlIn an interview with BuzzFeed News in the fall, Sterling K. Brown, astar of BLACK PANTHER, thrilled at the prospect of children, black andwhite, dressing up as the title character.

Now right wing idiots can complain about the even newer Black Panthers!!